"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "For such A Time As This!"

"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in

Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink thee

three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast

likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is

not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish."

(Esther 4:16)

"Who knows whether you have been brought to the

kingdom for such a time as this?"

(Esther 4:14)

"Purim" is defined as the feasting period of Jews celebrating

the time they prevailed over their adversaries, as noted in

the Book of Esther 8:1-22.

Esther was the beautiful cousin of Mordecai, a Jew, and she was chosen by King Ahasuerus of Persia to be Queen in place of Vashti, when Vashti refused to come before the King when bidden. The King loved Esther more than any of his other women, but he did not know she was a Jew, because Mordecai had advised her to keep that a secret. The King had a wicked advisor named Haman, who was egotistical and arrogant, and he hated Mordecai, because he refused to bow to him, so Haman plotted to kill all the Jews and to this end, he also built gallows on which to hang Mordecai.

Haman

The plot thickens as Haman advises the King that there is a group of people who refuse to abide by the King's laws and these people should be destroyed. The King gave the fate of the Jewish people over to Haman to do as he pleased to them. Haman smiles and plans to exterminate all the Jews. Mordecai tells Esther of Haman's evil intentions, and he urges her to go before the King. This was extremely dangerous, because anyone who went before the King unbidden, could be put to death. Esther tells Mordecai to have the people fast for three days and she and her maidens will do the same. This is when she says the courageous words that she will go before the King, "and if I perish, I perish."

Esther

Esther goes before the King, and he holds his scepter out to her, welcoming her. The King told Esther he would give her anything she asked to the half of his kingdom, and asked what she desired. Esther, very wisely, plans a couple of banquets asking for the King and Haman to be present. Haman's big head gets bigger, because the Queen has asked for his presence with the King and herself.

In the meantime, the King cannot sleep and asks for the journals to be brought; he discovers Mordecai was responsible for foiling a plot of some spies against the King. He has Haman honor Mordecai by setting him on the King's horse, clothed in the King's robe and crown, and parades him through the streets of the city. This infuriates Haman further.

Esther reveals to the King that she is a Jew,

and Haman's plot to kill all of her people

Esther has her final banquet and informs the King that Haman wants to kill her and all of her people, the Jews. The Jewish people were allowed to defend themselves and they were saved; Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the very gallows Haman had built to hang Mordecai.

The feast of Purim is celebrated for one day, with the reading of the Book of Esther, to remember the defeat of the plot to exterminate the Jews. The Jews state that in every generation, there are those who plot to destroy them, and today we see the plot still exists. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still fights for His people.

The Bride of Christ, the Church, today faces peril and loss all over the world. Today, people are in prison for their faith in Jesus Christ; and every day more and more religious freedoms in America and worldwide are threatened with extinction. The apostles of Jesus Christ became martyrs for the cause of Christ, and when the cause of Christ demands it, we must take up our cross and follow Him. He's coming for something of value, as a thief in the night. We are armed with the sword of the Spirit, the Name of Jesus Christ, and His Blood shed for all mankind.

In Luke 21:24, Jesus told His disciples, "They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the gentiles, until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled." He was talking about the end times, but describing it as "the times of the gentiles." We are living in the dispensation of grace, the apostolic era after the cross when the gentiles have been grafted in; we are partakers of the blessings of Abraham, and the door of grace is open to the Jew and the gentile. Through Christ, all nations would be blessed.

Believers sojourn in a land where we do not belong. David touches on the idea in Psalm 39:12 when he refers to the vanity of life. Jesus called His own life a sojourn when he said, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20) Jesus Christ was at home here less than we are, but He indicates that the life of the believer will be a time of waiting, sojourning, and separation in a place where we don't belong. For those who are saved and sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, earth is not our Home ... we're justa' passin' through ... We have a Home beyond the stars, with golden streets, gates of pearl, walls of jasper, and most of all, the Lover of our souls, our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

Mordecai and Esther remained in Babylon for a higher purpose, as we see when Mordecai tells Esther in 4:14, "Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Why are we where we are? There are many situations in God where we ask that question. Many in prison now all over the world, for their faith in Jesus Christ, might ask that question. When we realize the responsibility the Church has, because of the price paid for us on the cross, we suddenly see that we are here "for such a time as this." The apostles all had Esther's statement embedded in their souls, "If I perish, I perish." It's a humbling, sobering thought that our lives are not our own; we have been grafted in and we have a high calling; we're a royal priesthood, a chosen generation.

The Church, too, shall prevail; the Bride will be sustained until the Bridegroom blows the trumpet; she will stand and fight against the forces of evil; she will complete the wedding garment that covers the world; she will be the light in the darkness; and those words: "And If I Perish, I Perish" should not scare us, because for the Bride of Christ, "perish" means a change of dimension ... we will live eternally with our Lord and King, Jesus Christ, alive with Him!

We read the back of the Book and we win! We will celebrate a "purim" as well; the enemy will be defeated, Church! One angel will cast satan into the Lake of Fire! The marriage supper of the Lamb will be our feast! Rejoice, O Esther's! The Bridegroom cometh! Maranatha, Lord Jesus! We have been brought to the kingdom "For Such A Time As This!"